What's the last VOY episode you'd watched, with mini-review?

[Qonundrum]

If you've seen an episode recently and want to dish out what you did or didn't dig?

I just finished "Dark Frontier" on the DVD. I'm amazed at how well it holds up. Exciting, engaging, the dynamic and dilemma of Seven is handled beautifully. This is a great adaptation of "train robbery - in space'.

While the opening of the story and Borg Queen reveal reek of "TV wannabe copy of the big epic 1996 flick", Susanna Thompson just nails it as the Borg Queen - a character that shouldn't be, but perfect casting overcomes this with ease. So mesmerizing and with dialogue to keep one glued to the set.

As usual, any animosity between Jeri Ryan and Kate Mulgrew can't be seen on screen, and they've got the best double-act in the whole series!

Picard would go up-nose and scoff "better off dead", but Janeway - as would Sisko and Kirk - goes out of her way to rescue her valued crew.

I also love how the Borg Queen values Seven's uniqueness. And, yes, Locutus was unassimilated, but Seven is unique in terms of the length of time - and it begs the question of what would be done with Locutus, since he wasn't mucked up too much and had his bits removed. Which is a shame for another reason, as Data could have entertained Spot for hours with that laser pointer thingy attached to his head. But there I go digressing...

The Hansens (no relation to the admiral from TBOBW) managed to do a ton of research without giving the Federation any juicy data in turn. But their backstory from the previous year's story was so vague in the first place, making it easier to fill it in later. That's pretty ingenious.

Obviously, there are some nitpicks - but whereas the Borg Queen might be cognizant and allow this attempted caper, knowing full well that the use of the Hansen's bio-dampening technology wouldn't begin to fly because the Borg would incorporate and be ready for it, and to compare, why the Borg don't sense a bunch of little glowing red discs about to go "boom boom" in a strategic area of the ship as a threat raises questions. Once they go off, however, you bet they raise hairs. And lots of other things.

Indeed, long gone are the days of every component being decentralized.

How come the Queen's chamber floor pattern is somewhat reminiscent of Janeway's briefing room table?

The music takes nods from Goldsmith and Jones, isn't too sterile, and definitely isn't bombastic.


Lastly, I thought I had a Borgified photoshop:

Oh wait, wrong episode... here it is!

Isn't the Queen's pedestal there the same one used in Data's lab in "The Best in Both Worlds" that Locutus was inside, but now repurposed and with bits added?

 

[Akiraprise]

"Fury" was the last full episode I've watched. I tend to YouTube clips more than watch full episodes nowadays since I've seen them all many times. This episode, and the Kes character in general, had so much wasted potential, a recurring theme of course. While I am not a huge fan of the evil version of Kes we got here, which came out of left field, I was glad to see her again. The nice Tuvok birthday scene with Janeway in the beginning was fun. But boy was Kes ruthless. Straight up murdered Ayala, B'elanna, and tore the ship apart. But I always do enjoy the callbacks to the early seasons we got; we even got a Joe Carey and Samantha Wildman appearance together in this episode. The Vidiian attack was pretty brutal against the ship but the Chakotay maneuver of ripping half the hull off was the typical Voyager reset. Old Kes' protestations of abandonment don't make a lot of sense. Mulgrew and Lien's acting was good throughout, especially when Janeway was forced to kill Old Kes and her final goodbye. Plus Kes and Neelix got to actually say goodbye this time. It would have been nice if Kes could have recurred for the rest of the series somehow.

 

[Lynx]

I watched "Favorite Son" on Saturday.

Quite exciting episode, a bit spooky actually and a good Harry Kim episode.

OK, the plot with Kim catching some alien DNA on an away mission which turned him into a Taresian was a bot over the top. But the whole story about those female DNA-vampires was good.

 

[Lynx]

"Fury" was the last full episode I've watched. I tend to YouTube clips more than watch full episodes nowadays since I've seen them all many times. This episode, and the Kes character in general, had so much wasted potential, a recurring theme of course. While I am not a huge fan of the evil version of Kes we got here, which came out of left field, I was glad to see her again. The nice Tuvok birthday scene with Janeway in the beginning was fun. But boy was Kes ruthless. Straight up murdered Ayala, B'elanna, and tore the ship apart. But I always do enjoy the callbacks to the early seasons we got; we even got a Joe Carey and Samantha Wildman appearance together in this episode. The Vidiian attack was pretty brutal against the ship but the Chakotay maneuver of ripping half the hull off was the typical Voyager reset. Old Kes' protestations of abandonment don't make a lot of sense. Mulgrew and Lien's acting was good throughout, especially when Janeway was forced to kill Old Kes and her final goodbye. Plus Kes and Neelix got to actually say goodbye this time. It would have been nice if Kes could have recurred for the rest of the series somehow.

I have no intention to start a discussion about this horrible excuse for a Star Trek episode this time, I just have to state that this episode never should have been made.

If I really have to say one tiny positiv thing about it, then it must be that it inspired me to write the story Coming Home, the best Star trek Voyager episode never made.

 

[Oddish]

OK, the plot with Kim catching some alien DNA on an away mission which turned him into a Taresian was a bot over the top. But the whole story about those female DNA-vampires was good.

It wasn't a horrible episode in and of itself. I recently watched this one as well. My chief issue with it was that it could have been productively used. If the character was foundering, they could have eliminated him from the show without killing him. Or, they could have had the Taresian DNA be a permanent addition, giving the character new abilities. Like Nog joining Starfleet, he could have turned a corner here. Instead of the straight road to oblivion he took.

Also watched... Relativity.

Best thing about this one was that it showed, as CoC with Deanna did, how good Seven looked in a standard uniform. Also liked the mixed doubles ping pong, the unexpected twist villain (working for temporal adjustment bureau must be quite the nightmare), and Janeway snarking it up.

 

[Qonundrum]

"Bliss"

I like this story. It's not too deep, not too shallow, Neelix wants to see Earth, the tension and build-up have a terrific payoff, and Goldilocks was eaten by Mama Bear. Oh wait, that's the crossover episode from the other timeline's other timeline I just returned from. the ending definitely eschewed expectations.

The direction is first rate. Even little scenes like when Janeway says "Security is heading down" and behind her out of focus is a goldshirt entering the turbolift as the doors close.

The music is easily above average in the lore of 90s-Trek... Mid-era TNG tuned too much into "wallpaper music", but VOY definitely found a way to make it a little more refined and they really nail it here.

Qatai is rather a charming character and certainly extremely well-acted, if not a new take on the old Cap'n C. Ahab trope. His first name is "Crunchy". The writing is impeccably handled, especially as he doesn't trust Seven initially and the fight to have him believe her feels authentic. He unfortunately has one heck of a fetish, going back into a fritter that gets energy from biological and propulsion system energy, and that little twist at the end is a headscratcher -- and yet feels original. WHY would he do this, after everything he told? There's more to this guy than what the opening and coda of this story told... and yet, the story feels satisfying at the same time.

I wonder how the bioplasmic critter can move through the galaxy. Since space is a big place, not all the ships over its lifespan of 200K years must have been given some alluring siren songs to appease other ships with. It also posits a question about how similar all organic fritters' brains are, but this ties back into TNG's "The Chase" as well.

The EMH recognizes the difference between high-level instinct and sentience and refuses to kill it either way. Good stuff. If anything, the scene felt a little rushed, but not detracting from the whole story.

But the EMH noticed Seven was being taken in by the critter's telepathic ability. Why can't he override the crew if he confirms they're not acting in a right frame of mind? Even Dr Crusher relieved Picard in "Lonely Among Us" and I think that may have been a better way to end the story since nothing's really gained by having Seven shirk off her being manipulated and the Doctor gave the exposition that the thing figured out what she wanted... all this reminds:

When waking Torres, having her - or any other crewmember - still under the influence was great. Having everyone wake up and immediately able to save the day... no thanks.

The EMH gets two great lines:

1. Starfleet's not in the habit of killing lifeforms.
   
2. I'm a doctor, not a dragonslayer - Dr McCoy would be proud

Naomi gets one:

1. "Like a pitcher plant". That ruled!

Naomi adores her Bolian doll. I adore little nuanced tidbits like this!!

A couple problems exist:

1. An EM pulse would fry Seven - I'll presume them Borg implants will cure her up to where she was, but not turn her back into a total drone, of course
2. The treknobabble about shutting down the EMH because the wormhole would affect its program would otherwise be a clue that something is amiss, except VOY has too often belched out words out of their meaning (using 'download' instead of 'upload' being one such example)
3. It's the old use of the torpedo to save the day. By season five, Voyager's complement of torpedoes should be at about -47 at this point... okay, they don't use it so their arsenal remains fully empty at -46.

Okay, it's true that "three" is more than "a couple". But if "football time" shows 10 minutes left on the timer for first quarter, yet the game's been going on for 34 minutes already., then adding one more teensy issue into the list won't be too far off..

I did notice the episode was potentially cherry-picking the big tree o' Trek and found possible influences from the following:

• The Immunity Syndrome (big space fritter living off of others' life force energy)
• TWOK (inspired by Moby Dick)
• Shore Leave (crew gets to see what they want thanks to telepathic influence)
• The Motion Picture
• Galaxy's Child
• Silicon Avatar
  
• Twisted
• Psirens (okay, this recommended episode is from Red Dwarf, but they took the Greek lore of Sirens as well and it's a trope that's great when used right, and right it was used here.)

and finally

• My ex-fiancee's endoscopy, which also looked like his colonoscopy but he did enjoy talking out of his--- oh wait, did I just digress and that's not from a Trek episode? Phew, thank goodness!!

And I must say, this story is a thousand million times better than "Twisted". And, despite the possible influences, has enough nuanced twists and turns that it does feel original in its own right.


Lastly, I just looked it up:

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Based on that, despite, it looks like I wasn't too far off. Based on scenes and count shown, it's only -34 since the maker of that video, and they do deserve an accolade or three, is the definitive resource for this unique form of drinking game.


Rating: 4.5/5 There is much to enjoy and little in the way of questionable things that took me out of the story

P.S. Yeah, this is the longest mini-review I'd ever done and I apologize for that. It's like that concept of "football time" where the timer on screen shows 10 minutes left for first quarter, yet the game's been going on for 43 minutes already.

 

[Oddish]

Naomi adores her Bolian doll. I adore little nuanced tidbits like this!!

Actually, it's Flotter. Neelix gave it to her in "Once Upon a Time". One of Voyager's very few bits of continuity.

It's the old use of the torpedo to save the day. By season five, Voyager's complement of torpedoes should be at about -47 at this point... okay, they don't use it so their arsenal remains fully empty at -46.

Further proof that Janeway is the Chuck Norris of Star Trek... 38 torpedoes is whatever she says it is.

Ok, it was actually lazy and incompetent showrunners.

One of the early ones: Ex Post Facto...

* Good cold open, with the guy getting iced. Grabs your attention.
* These folks need an education in human rights... given that Harry was known to be innocent, an interrogation that hospitalized him is a bit much.
* Dogs, 70,000 LY from Earth. Parallel evolution?
* Interesting to see Tom back in his sleazebag days.
* Janeway had a point... Chakotay's trick WAS kind of obvious.
* Tim Russ is awesome in Columbo mode.
* Nice bit with Tom and Tuvok at the end.
* Overall, a good episode. Not one of the show's best, maybe, but on my regular rewatch list.

 

[Qonundrum]

Actually, it's Flotter. Neelix gave it to her in "Once Upon a Time". One of Voyager's very few bits of continuity.

Thanks for the info/clarification!

Further proof that Janeway is the Chuck Norris of Star Trek... 38 torpedoes is whatever she says it is.

Ok, it was actually lazy and incompetent showrunners.

One of the early ones: Ex Post Facto...

* Good cold open, with the guy getting iced. Grabs your attention.
* These folks need an education in human rights... given that Harry was known to be innocent, an interrogation that hospitalized him is a bit much.
* Dogs, 70,000 LY from Earth. Parallel evolution?
* Interesting to see Tom back in his sleazebag days.
* Janeway had a point... Chakotay's trick WAS kind of obvious.
* Tim Russ is awesome in Columbo mode.
* Nice bit with Tom and Tuvok at the end.
* Overall, a good episode. Not one of the show's best, maybe, but on my regular rewatch list.

LOL, true. VOY had potential in a number of ways, but they never really focused or wanted to do it all. For something like torpedo count with no ability to replenish, just have the chalkboard read "Number of torpedoes left: xx" and update the number after the episode is finished. It's the only restriction I recall.

I'll check Ex Post Facto out soon, thanks! Of one of the things VOY did right was to explore Vulcan culture and they nailed the casting with Tim Russ for sure...

 

[Oddish]

In the show's defense, they did observe the 38-torpedo limit, for the first four years of the show. During that time, the torpedoes were being deployed at a snail's pace, I think they were down to 11 by the start of "Year of Hell". Then, in seasons 5-7, they decided to just ignore it; they fired half again as many torpedoes in the last three seasons as in the first four.

Sadly, it would have been an easy fix. Just have "Night" start with mentioning a new industrial replicator, or a trade with some species, or a discovery of some exotic ore... some ten seconds of technobabble solution that allows the ship to acquire photon warheads or manufacture its own. Continuity is satisfied, and our intelligence is respected.

 

[Malicia]

I watched Human Error last night and can't remember much of the plot because I was half asleep but I noticed how striking Jeri Ryan is when she's displaying emotions like happiness and excitement. It made me wonder if actors playing Borg and Vulcan characters feel restricted because they have a limited number of emotions they can use and if the actors playing those races are more likely to be typecast.

 

[Tosk]

The Disease.

Generally speaking, I dislike the "X falls in love with a brand new character very quickly" Trek episodes.
...and this one isn't even a good example of that tired tale. The background to the story was more interesting than the main plot, but it's barely there. I preferred Tuvok trying not to fall in love a few eps earlier.

 

[Oddish]

Generally speaking, I dislike the "X falls in love with a brand new character very quickly" Trek episodes.

Sometimes, I wonder if Harry got such garbage episodes because the showrunners had it in for him, or the writers just didn't know what to do with him.

REPRESSION: I had never seen this one, and it had a really great start, in terms of the mystery of the fallen crew members. Its biggest flaw was that it had such an intriguing premise that it had to end so quickly. Imagine this one stretched into a two-parter, and they could have dumped "Nightingale", an insult of an episode.

 

[Lynx]

It wasn't a horrible episode in and of itself. I recently watched this one as well. My chief issue with it was that it could have been productively used. If the character was foundering, they could have eliminated him from the show without killing him. Or, they could have had the Taresian DNA be a permanent addition, giving the character new abilities. Like Nog joining Starfleet, he could have turned a corner here. Instead of the straight road to oblivion he took.

Also watched... Relativity.

Best thing about this one was that it showed, as CoC with Deanna did, how good Seven looked in a standard uniform. Also liked the mixed doubles ping pong, the unexpected twist villain (working for temporal adjustment bureau must be quite the nightmare), and Janeway snarking it up.

Personally I think that it was best that he was restored to the normal Harry Kim.
It would have been wrong to kill him off and it would ahve been a bit weird to let him remain a Taresian.
That he could have had som character development after this episode is another story.

 

[Tosk]

Dark Frontier. I'm Borg-biased, but I found it a real snooze-fest. Nothing remotely interesting happens, it's just "The Borg want Seven. The Borg take Seven. Voyager gets Seven back."

The Fight. Eesh. I don't even know what to say about it. Apart from how average-terrible the ep is, I found it quite weird/annoying how the Doctor seemed to reset part way through the episode. (Not reset as a hologram, reset narratively.) At first he's all "Chakotay, what do the voices say, tell me, it's important, we won't survive, keep trying..." and later without any real indication of a changed approach, he's all, "It's just stupid hallucinations, idiot! And even if it's not, talking to crazy aliens might hurt Chalotay, so that's not cool!"

Think Tank. The plan is remarkably simplistic as a way to beat a bunch of big brains, but overall I like the ep. I don't love it, but it's okay.

 

[Tosk]

Fair Haven. I'm all for Kathy gettin' some, but boy howdy does this ep stiiiink. It's not only boring, but it's also has a VOY speciality, a "big fat nothing of a space danger B plot".

Alice. A stinky Christine riff. Watching this and Fair Haven together has me wondering why the Voyager crew are always going gaga over garbage. Paris is head-over-heels when he sees Alice for the first time, when she's just junky little shuttle redress #37. And in Fair Haven, it's difficult to fathom why the entire crew is nuts over Paris' simulation. Maybe it's just me.

Pathfinder. A good episode. Good guest stars, an enjoyable low-stakes plot, and quite a touching finale.

 

[Oddish]

And in Fair Haven, it's difficult to fathom why the entire crew is nuts over Paris' simulation. Maybe it's just me.

It's not. While I'd have personally enjoyed exploring Fair Haven for a bit, I don't see it justifying using up even one holodeck constantly. Sandrine's and the modified Paxau Resort would have been better for that sort of thing.

 

[at Quark's]

I agree. I can understand it's nice to run the program every now and then, but continuously?

 

[Summer Solstice]

REPRESSION: I had never seen this one, and it had a really great start, in terms of the mystery of the fallen crew members. Its biggest flaw was that it had such an intriguing premise that it had to end so quickly. Imagine this one stretched into a two-parter, and they could have dumped "Nightingale", an insult of an episode.

Are there many you haven't seen? I love "Repression" and agree it could have stretched into a two-parter. I'd love to know if it was based on an early draft for "Worst Case Scenario".

And in Fair Haven, it's difficult to fathom why the entire crew is nuts over Paris' simulation. Maybe it's just me.

I'm not convinced the entire crew is - Janeway, Harry and the EMH are. I haven't seen "Fair Haven" for a while but I don't remember B'Elanna and Seven being enthusiastic about Fair Haven.

 

[Tosk]

The Voyager Conspiracy. I don't actually know if this episode is good or not. I couldn't get past Janeway and Chakotay buying into Seven's paranoid bullshit. I get what they were going for, and if anything it's more relevant now than ever...but her wild swings at "Or maybe it was this!!" never come close to convincing, and J&C look like imbeciles for ever falling for it. I find their actions just as frustrating and idiotic as I do the real people who go for outlandish conspiracy theories. Plus, they retroactively introduced a few "actual" questions that the show never bothers to answer.

Equinox. A good two-parter, I have almost no complaints other than the fact that we of course never see the new crew members ever again. Ransom does turn quite easily in the end, but it's fairly easy to let that go. Maybe his time with the Voyager crew eventually shook him back to reality, he'd been among others who agreed with him for so long it was maybe too easy to keep doing a bad thing all those years.

I'm not convinced the entire crew is - Janeway, Harry and the EMH are. I haven't seen "Fair Haven" for a while but I don't remember B'Elanna and Seven being enthusiastic about Fair Haven.

B'Elanna is only seen in the B plot, but Seven does partake. It's enough of "everyone" at least for the program to be left running 24/7, and planning to extend it to Holodeck 2. We're told it's very popular.

 

[Oddish]

B'Elanna is only seen in the B plot, but Seven does partake.

Indeed. She's the only out of place element in this fan-made video.

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Basics Part 1 - This is one that's best the first time you see it, because you don't know what's really happening. But it does have a certain appeal to watch the plot unfold. And, the interplay between Cullah and Seska is interesting. She's smarter than he is, he knows she's smarter than he is, but he's a Kazon and has to act like a sexist pig.

Also, great line: "It feels like we're being pecked to death by ducks!"